with the obama white house. >> the president's statement is right. no one wants taxes to go up on the middle class. i don't want them to go up on anybody. i'm not in the majority of the united states senate. he is the president of the united states. >> when i listen to the president i think the president is eager to go over the cliff for political purposes. i think he sees a political victory at the bottom of the cliff. he gets all this additional tax revenue for new programs. he gets to cut the military which democrats have been calling for for years. and he gets to blame republicans for it. >> as a practical matter it's already too late for employers to accurately withhold taxes from january paychecks unless there is no change. so workers will feel immediately that 2% hike in the social security tax in those first january pay checks. bill? >> hampton, good to see you. merry christmas. we'll see you later. >> merry christmas to you. >> our next guest says he is unlikely to support any deal the president and speaker can come up with. republican senat